Anything OTHER than Rice Hulls in a Wheat Beer?

[maltoftheearth]

Has anyone ever used anything other than rice hulls to create a mash with wheat that is a little less dense and compacted?

I won't be near my "local" homebrew store (one hour away) for a few weeks and was hoping to brew before then. My hope is that there is some creative substitute that I can get locally.

 

[rycov]

i've heard people say that when they brew in a bag they don't need the hulls. you could try that?

 

[dcp27]

i've heard people say that when they brew in a bag they don't need the hulls. you could try that?

+1, works no problem with BIAB

 

[maltoftheearth]

BIAB? That makes me laugh. I get nervous about doing new things when I brew, this recipe already has me germinating my own wheat and I was anticipating problems with the mash (if I didn't use rice hulls.) Learning how to do BIAB is the next step I guess, it's just funny for me to add another thing I don't know how to do onto this recipe

 

[dcp27]

you can just put the grains in a straining bag and mash as normal. you dont need to do it the aussie way, I don't and haven't had a problem. just make sure the bag is loose and the grains aren't too tightly packed

 

[JonK331]

What don't you just order some rice hulls on the internet?

 

[maltoftheearth]

What don't you just order some rice hulls on the internet?

Just a personal preference, I try to source things locally as much as possible. You're right, in a pinch I could order from online.

 

[BigRob]

I routinely do 100% wheat malt/cascade SMaSH BIAB, that works quite well and is very tasty. Dunno if you have a local fabric store, but a square yard of voile material will be cheap and even if you only ever used it for your 100% wheat brew, it's well spent, reusable, and less bulky than a bunch of rice hulls. You can use the spring clip things for paperwork and not even have to sew a bag if you choose.

 

[El_Exorcisto]

How are you mashing and sparging? I mash in a cooler with stainless braid and batch sparge and never have an issue with slow runoffs.

 

[Scroto]

I've heard that shredded tamale wrappers (corn husks) work as a substitute, also I've been meaning to try buckwheat hulls as a sub seeing as how my mom has an excess from using as pillow stuffing.

They seem like they should work based on physical properties but I'm unsure as to any flavor contribution they might have.

The upside is that they're usually available at craft stores and the like so more of a chance of finding one locally (I guess that's assuming you have a craft store locally.)

Hope it helps.